Liars - Liars.
even for people who didn't really like this album a whole lot, there's almost always the disclaimer of "i like 'plaster casts of everything'" usually followed by "'but the rest didnt grab me" but 'that one' track is great.... yes it is. I like the liars. i think i might like their image a bit more. they take great photos, their dvd for "drums not dead" was pretty great, and they do everything they can to look the part of a band doing the crazy-but-not schtick of following the muse when you're head might be in the wrong or awkward places. but they also at least remain true to it. their fascination and consistency remains with texture and sound, everything else is fuckable. they can sound like a speaker climbing rock band in the opening track only to pull a decent fascimile of Beck for "houseclouds", then segue in the EQ-ruined 'leather prowler' (which i like despite everyone calling a mistake). from ugly drooling loveless homages to intermittent banging and abuse, it's still a band sound of falling over one's self, but it's a very beautiful and intriguing kind of drunken authenticity that gets the most mileage the shorter they get. most of the best tracks regularly clock in under 3 minutes, especially the "hey"-shouting strain of 'clear island.' your dad will still hate it, and it will still be a mangled, neurotic, and bitchy mess to put in a box for your brain to process as a whole, but it's pure liars greatness. a band still on the top of a game only they know the rules to and isn't known enough about to take the mystery out. it's rough, short, nasty... it could even be punk. it's an album about being rough and unfinished and looking damn good for it.
